The Revenant's Pilgrimage
by Casa Circe
Summary: Hitomi made a fateful decision years ago, one that has come back to haunt her in the form of a silver-haired soldier seeking a second chance at life.
1. Chapter 1

The Revenant's Pilgrimage

_Note:_

_Happy Valentine's Day!_

_So this is a long overdue response to a request by Divinely Sweet Ambrosiac who asked me last year to come up with a HitomixDilandau story. It's taken a while for me to come up with a decent enough premise for a multi-chapter but I have something now so I'm happy to post the first chapter today. No shipping yet because this will be a slow burn but hopefully one that pays off. We'll see._

_I'm not ashamed to say that this is heavily inspired by "Into the Unknown" from Frozen 2 but, of course, this will be a much darker story. I mean, Dilandau is in it so that's to be expected. _

_This takes place several years after the series and with Hitomi back on earth. I won't reveal much more as things will become clearer as the story progresses. For now, at least I've finally started it. Enjoy and do let me know what you think!_

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Hitomi Kanzaki had not been plagued by voices for years. And foolishly, she had believed this blessed silence would last.

But her peace was only ever meant to be temporary.

Ten years after that fateful journey to Gaea, the whispers began, and try as she might, she could not banish them. They were monotonous in their purpose, chanting a mantra of sorts, repeatedly expressing a long-held wish.

"Take me back. Take me back. Take me back."

And though the whispers were soft, they were persistent. And Hitomi could not ignore them. Especially since she knew who was asking for her help and why she was the only one who could do anything for them.

Despite some lingering guilt over a fateful decision made over a decade ago, the young woman still resisted, still tried to shut out the voice that desperately tried to reach her. It had taken her too long to move on from the events in Gaea, to start a new life on earth, to actually be content with what she had built. She would not be dragged back into another war, another world, another life. It was too difficult, too painful. She had not worked this hard only to regress.

"Take me back. Take me back. Take me back."

Hitomi grew furious with this constant nagging. After a while, in her frustration, she began to argue with the voice, if only to break the monotonous droning. Late one night, she finally spoke back, and she was surprised by how responsive he became.

"Why won't you leave me alone?" she cried, "I did not make that choice lightly. I made it to help my friends. You can't blame me for that. Why do you plague me after all this years?"

"You know why," the voice replied, a variation in the usual whisper, "You had no right to send me away."

"I had to do it," was all Hitomi could offer in reply, knowing full well how weak an argument this was.

"You abused your power," the voice accused her.

"I saved a life," Hitomi insisted.

"By destroying another."

"Some things come at a price."

"One that I was forced to pay."

"And that's enough reason for me to bring you back?" Hitomi retorted.

"You owe me."

"I don't owe you anything."

"You _owe _me."

Hitomi sighed. She knew full well that she could not argue any more. Part of her even agreed that there was some strange justice in acquiescing to his request, as risky as it was. But how could she even achieve that?

"I regret the way things turned out," she said carefully.

"An apology is poor amends for what you took from me."

"Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't know how to bring you back," she said with complete honesty.

For a moment, there was silence, but Hitomi could sense that her companion was smirking in the darkness where his consciousness was trapped. He had always just been a voice, but now he seemed almost a physical presence that she could definitely not ignore. He had never manifested more clearly to her than in that instant, when she could practically see the silver hair, crimson eyes, and sinister smirk.

"You're a clever girl," he said slyly, "I'm sure you'll figure it out."


	2. Chapter 2

The Revenant's Pilgrimage

NOTE:

It's the Ides of March so we have a chapter on betrayal.

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(The whole chapter will be posted shortly.)


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